


One More Year in Asgard

by chubbychoco



Category: Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Odin's A+ Parenting, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-03
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-17 15:57:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/553301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chubbychoco/pseuds/chubbychoco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His punishment is harsh, but it’s about to get a whole lot worse.  Asgard’s halls echo with Jotun footsteps, and Loki knows who they’re looking for.  Worse yet, he knows that they are here with Odin’s permission.  Thor can protect him from the Frost Giants…but at what cost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	One More Year in Asgard

Loki’s heart threatened to pound out through his ribs, he was so nervous.  He had never realized just how much he took Thor’s forgiveness for granted until now.  But this…this creature standing before him, eyes boiling with rage, this was not the brother he was used to.  The pity was gone from those orbs of blue, and his jaw was clenched to white.

Loki whimpered behind his mask.  It was a pathetic noise, one the mortals had often made in his presence.  He remembered hearing them pule in Germany, and the sound had disgusted him.  But it seemed to evoke sympathy in Thor, and given how the blonde was glowering down at him, he could use some of that right now.  He looked up at him imploringly, green eyes wide.

“You have spent my compassion, Loki,” Thor said coldly.

Damn it.

“I pleaded with you.  I offered you all within my power to make you stop.  I can think of little you could have asked for that I would have denied you, had you simply agreed to come home.”  Thor touched one hand to the hole in his chest.  Loki could smell the blood beneath the armor, and he swallowed hard around his mouthful of metal.  “You repaid me by attempting to kill me.”

No…no, Loki wanted to say.  No, he did not try to kill him, not since the incident with the Destroyer.  If he had wanted to kill Thor, that knife would have been planted in his throat, or through his eye and into his brain.  He could have gutted him, even - Thor’s armor was strong, but hardly impenetrable.  All he could do to express his denial, though, was shake his head.

“I see that your ability to lie to me is not inhibited by your mask.”  Thor shook his head right back at him.  “Though why you continue to try is beyond me.”

Loki could feel fear rising in his chest as Thor stormed up to him and seized the back of his head.  Not his hair, thank Yggdrasil for the little things.  Loki tensed, looking at Thor the way a frightened elk may look at the wolves that were about to tear out its throat.  That expression, he did not need to exaggerate - Thor’s wrath was a frightening thing.  He willed himself not to tremble.

It was difficult not to.  For the first time in a long time, he was powerless - not weak, not nervous, but thoroughly, inescapably  _powerless_.

“You will always be my brother,” Thor growled, “but I no longer believe  _I_ am  _yours._ ”

The familiar reference had the usual effect it had on Loki.  His fear could not overwhelm his anger.   _We were never brothers,_  Loki thought bitterly.  He hoped it showed in his eyes.   _Never.  I was raised alongside you for Odin’s own sick amusement.  You were by my side for the same reason a boy may keep a pet wolf - you needed a companion._

He could feel Thor thumb open the lock of his mask.  The moment the metal fell to the floor, he leaned forward and spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth from his attempts to speak.  Each sharp corner of the cage in his mouth had penalized his daring, until he nearly choked on his own crimson life.  Now he was free to rid himself of it, coughing until his ribs ached.

Once he was done, he looked up doubtfully.  “You permit me to speak?” Loki asked, rubbing at the sore joins of his lips.

Thor nodded.  “I do.”

“Why?”

“My reasons are not important,” Thor said sternly.  “Nor do you have any right to question me.  The All-Father left me in charge of your punishment, and therefore I decide whether the device stays on or comes off.”

“I simply do not understand,” Loki said dourly.  “Would my silence not make your task easier?”

Thor snorted.  “It is cowardly,” he said, cracking his knuckles, “to hide from the cries of those you discipline.”

 

* * *

 

He could hear Thor approaching, but something was different about his pace today.  It was less set, less stern.  And when he opened the door to Loki’s cell, his face was not inscribed with the grim determination it was when he intended on inflicting Loki’s penance.  Rather, he looked more like the old Thor - the compassionate, desperate one who just wanted Loki back.

The trickster tried to glare, but it didn’t look like an act on Thor’s part.  Something was wrong.

Thor turned back to Loki, and his angry expression made a half-hearted attempt to find its way back onto his face.  It halfway succeeded.  “You are aware of the nature of your punishment,” Thor said by way of introduction.

“I have been suffering it for nearly three months,” Loki said caustically.  A new crack opening in Thor’s armor was no reason to suddenly play the compassion card.  “So yes, I believe I do.”

The sarcasm was not lost on Thor, but the god of lightning did not lash out.  Rather, he continued, “Father does not believe it is enough.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed.  “You beat me daily, you interrogate me - “

“I do not interrogate you.  I ask you about your emotions.  It is one of the few things I do that is not cruel.”

“ _It is when you no longer care!_ ” Loki seethed, turning on Thor like a snake.  “You have made your hatred for me clear, Thor!  Continue with my sentence and stop torturing me with these needless updates on Asgard’s pointless minutiae.”

Thor glared.  “You will find them less pointless if you let me continue.”

Loki frowned in confusion.  “Then continue.”

“The All-Father wishes to transfer the responsibility of your penalty to the Jotuns.”

The dark-haired man turned white at the idea.  His lips stood out in crimson contrast to his skin, and his eyes widened until they watered.

Odin had regained contact with the Jotuns…and somehow, had kept their interest long enough to hold conversation with them.  That was surprising enough, but the idea of them controlling his fate was like a blow to the chest.  Loki thought that Thor despised him, but if Odin wished to hand him over to the Frost Giants…

…well, at least Thor didn’t want him  _dead._

Thor continued, “He believes I will falter in my duties. The Jotuns would be given permission to punish you under the conditions that they begin a truce bargain with Asgard and they do not kill you.  Were they to do so, even accidentally, Asgard would destroy what little was left of their race.”

Loki stared at Thor for a moment.  His mouth hung agape and his arms shook.

“Loki, are you - “

Thor did not get to finish.  Loki stood in a blind rage and threw himself at Thor, pounding away with his fists and roaring like an animal.  He could not put words to his anger - the reserves of it had broken free, poured out like a river that had defied its dam.  It was as he’d always suspected…he’d always  _known._ He was nothing more than a bargaining chip.  Odin was not punishing his son.  He was haggling with the Frost Giants.

Thor took the first few blows with dignity, then threw Loki back as if he were a child.  “I do not wish for this to happen.”

Loki could feel that his eyes were wet with tears, but he could not find it in himself to care.  He sank to his knees, trying to soak up the icy cold of the stone floor to deaden his senses.  He shook like a leaf, burying his face in his arms and howling.  “Why?” he commanded.  “What is there to gain from being the one who abuses me?!  You will not win my love back!  None of you ever will!!  I am not a son, I am not a brother, I am not a friend - I am not even an Asgardian!”

Thor looked at Loki for a long moment…and then his mask shattered.  Three months of forcing himself to remain blind to his brother’s agony was almost too much for him to bear, but Odin’s latest idea pushed him over the edge.  He dropped to kneel beside Loki, his face wrinkled with upset.  “Loki…” he said softly.  He was still furious with him.  Loki had committed unspeakable atrocities against him and those he loved.  But Thor was not heartless, and upon learning of Loki’s heritage, the reason for Odin’s unusually barbed ideas stung him deeply.  The sorcerer needed to be reproved, but not in the manner the All-Father intended.

If the Jotuns were permitted to punish him, they would not get Loki back - not as they gave him.  They would get his husk.  His broken, soulless body.  His eyes, open and alive, but unseeing.  And that, no matter how angry Thor was, was unacceptable.

“Leave me,” Loki hissed.  “Do not pretend you are not happy to see me removed from your sight.”

Thor shook his head.  “You are in trouble, Loki, but not to such a degree.  Not to me.”

“Do not feign love for me,” Loki snarled.  “You insult my intelligence.”

“I feign nothing.”  Loki scowled at him for a moment before realizing Thor was genuine.  It only upset him more.  How stupidly kind could he be?  More than that, how could he glue that mask on every day when he came in to beat him until he passed out on the floor?  Loki had believed for nearly a hundred days that Thor hated him.  What an act.

“And yet you torture me daily,” he snarled.

“Think what you will, but know this:  I refused to sew your lips shut, gouge out your eyes, cut out your tongue, and remove your fingers and toes.  These were all things that were suggested to me,” Thor said simply.  “You must be made to regret what you have done, Loki - but not in the ways many others wish for.”

Loki shook his head.  “You…you lie.”

Thor gave him a doubtful smirk.  “If anyone knows when people are lying and when they speak the truth, Loki, it is you.”  He shook his head, then resumed their earlier topic.  “The Jotuns are busy rebuilding their empire.  It is a lot of work - the Bifrost nearly destroyed Jotunheim.  Therefore, if you are already being thoroughly punished here, their new king refuses to take you as a prisoner.  He claims it will distract them from their greater goals.  They will arrive within the hour to assess the situation.”

Loki knew of the Frost Giant’s creativity in terms of damage and torment.  They were masters of finding new ways to inflict pain.  “Their new king is correct,” Loki said.  “Whoever he assigned to destroy me would never work again, not until I was returned to Asgard.”  Loki looked up at Thor with a sickly smirk.  “And therein lies the problem.  You will never be able to cause me the level of pain the Jotuns will be seeking.  No matter what you do to me, they will find more ways to cause me misery.”

Thor smiled sadly and gently caressed Loki’s face with one broad hand.  He was rewarded with his brother’s teeth sinking into the heel of his palm.  Thor pulled back with a startled noise and frowned down at Loki.  “If you truly believe I cannot keep you here, brother, the scope of your imagination is far more limited than mine.  I would do anything to save you.”

Loki looked up in confusion.  What was that supposed to mean?  And then, before he could ponder it too long, he heard the first heavy footfalls, and he knew the Jotuns had arrived.  They crawled over and inside Asgard like a blue plague.  Their smell, like ice and blood, was thick in the halls…and the stench threw him into a panic.

The trickster turned a sickly shade of green.  He shook like a leaf, shaking his head as he muttered about the Jotun practices of freezing the skin of their prisoners, then hitting it until it shattered like glass…Thor did not know if this was true, but he wasn’t about to let Loki find out.

With a broken, whispered apology, Thor began to do the things he knew would keep the Frost Giants from taking his brother.

 

* * *

 

Loki awoke to see Thor and a Frost Giant standing above him.  He felt as if he had been asleep for a century, but if the giant was here, then it couldn’t have been very long.  His vision was clouded…why was it so hard to focus?  He opened his mouth to speak, and all that came out was a pained, garbled rasp.  He went to touch his throat, but found he didn’t have the energy.

What had happened..?

The Jotun grinned.  “It seems I was wrong about you, Son of Odin.  I had been told your love for your brother would ruin your ability to cause him pain.  It appears I was lied to.”

“I am sure your source was simply misinformed.  But if one truly loves their family, they must be prepared to punish them for their crimes.”

“Well said.”  The giant stood from his crouch.  “You children of Asgard are a foul lot, but given all that has transpired…perhaps I should speak with Odin all the same.”

“I believe it would be wise, King Mne.  Odin seeks never to cause war between us again.”

“Something your stolen brother did not understand,” Mne growled, and Loki could feel his head snap sideways as the Jotun kicked him.  He groaned in pain without meaning to.  “He may be of our blood, but know that we will kill him if we ever see him in Jotunheim.”

“He will be fortunate if he ever leaves this room again, let alone the realm,” Thor said with a deep laugh.  “I am sure my father will be anxious to speak with you.  You are sure you and your kin are satisfied?”

“Well enough.”  Mne smirked and summoned the guards to his side.  “I will speak with your father, Son of Odin.  Continue your good work.”

Loki winced as the door slammed between them.  It was so loud.  Why was everything either too loud, or so quiet he could barely hear it?  There were a lot of whys right now.  He let out a small groan as Thor kneeled beside him.

“Brother?  Brother, are you awake?”  He was calling him brother again.  That was new.  “Please.  Answer me.”  His voice sounded so broken, so miserable.  Loki couldn’t fathom why.  Thor said he needed to be made to regret his actions.  Pain shot through his body like molten metal as Thor lifted him into his arms.  “Loki, by all the realms, you will speak to me  _this instant_  if you can hear me!”

“Here,” Loki muttered, unwilling to try to form more complex words.  He hurt too much.

Thor sighed in relief.  “Good.  The moment Mne and his men leave, I am taking you to the healing room.”

“Why?” Loki asked, trying to stir and immediately deciding that was a terrible idea.

“You…you have been sufficiently punished for a while.”  Thor stroked Loki’s hair back with one hand.  “The Jotuns have left you to me.  You need not worry about being torn from Asgard.”

Even in his state, Loki was shocked.  “The Jotuns have…Thor, what did you do to me?”  Such a long sentence was a tremendous exertion.  It absolutely exhausted him.

“It is not important, Loki.  What is important is to heal you.”

“Answer me,” Loki snarled, summoning up as much venom as possible.  The effort hurt, and he fell limp in Thor’s arms.  Still, he repeated himself.  “Answer me.”

He could feel Thor tense with shame.  “I took some suggestions from Sif and our father.”  Loki didn’t have the energy to remind Thor that Odin had only fathered one of them.  “I peeled your skin away.  I have sliced your remaining flesh in places designed to cause you the most suffering.”  In the corner was a sack of salt, torn open and strewn across the floor.  Mne did not need to know that Thor had never thrown any on Loki.  Still, Thor’s voice cracked as he said, “And I am sorry, brother.”

“Why did you…”  No.  It was too difficult to speak.  He let out a small whine and let his head fall back.  Within moments, he had passed out again.

 

* * *

 

When Loki awoke this time, he felt refreshed and peaceful.  He sat up and looked around, a bit dazed.  He was fogged with the mental cloud that came from deep, restful sleep and the unwillingness to wake up from it.  As a result, it took him a moment to realize he was in Thor’s room.  The knowledge filled him with immediate revulsion.  Even more so when he realized Thor slept beside him.  He went to leap from the bed, but found himself frozen when Thor’s eyes opened and he placed one heavy hand on Loki’s.

“I am glad to see you awake, brother,” he said softly.

“What is this?” Loki demanded, waving around the room with a toxic stare.  “What do you mean by it?”

Thor blinked at him.  “I told you, Loki - you have been punished enough for a while.”  Thor’s face fell, and he stirred in bed until he faced Loki.  Slowly, the blonde sat up.  “You do not deserve any more, and I cannot inflict any more.  Not after what I last did to you.”  Thor’s face was dark and miserable.  “I saved you from something worse, perhaps, but that does not make me pleased with my actions.”

Loki blinked.  “What did you do?” he asked vaguely before remembering.  The dark room, the crimson eyes, the hazy realization that his body stung in places, and Thor told him it was because the skin was  _gone._   He clenched one fist, tempted to strike Thor…but something the elder god had said paused him.  “The Jotuns no longer want me.”

“No.  Mne was pleased to see the state you were in.  I suppose it helped that he believed that I had thrown salt on you.”

Loki’s eyes widened in shock.  “Did you?” he demanded.

Thor shook his head.  “I would never.”

The trickster slowly calmed, and with a wary stare, he relaxed.  “You confuse me, Thor,” he said darkly.  “One moment, you hate me and cannot wait to lash me.  The next, you have placed me in your bed like a wounded bird whose wings will never heal.”

Thor sighed and fell back in bed, obviously distressed.  “I never hated you, Loki.  I never will.  Forcing myself to remain steeled against your sorrow was a task greater than any I have ever faced.  I still wish we could be the way we were…before.”  The word was said with such longing, such wistfulness, Loki flinched.  He did not care for the way he felt now.  “But that is on you.  As for me, my purpose is to cause you to see the error of your ways, like a parent with a child.  I take no joy in it, in spite of my anger.  And if I lose myself, if I do more than you deserve…”

Thor’s face fell, and he buried it behind one hand.

“…that is on me.”

Loki shook his head, disbelieving.  “You mean to tell me you regret punishing me?”

“Only what I did to keep you from the Frost Giants,” Thor said weakly.

The trickster snorted.  “Then you regret the wrong things,” he said simply.  When that clueless pair of blue eyes stared at him in confusion, he let out a harsh laugh.  It felt good to be able to mock Thor again.  “You skinned me, yes, but you did it to stop far worse horrors.  I would rather be flayed by you in Asgard than screaming for your mercies in Jotunheim.”

Thor peered at him, completely bewildered.  “Then…you are not upset with me?”

Loki snorted.  “I never said that.”

It didn’t matter.  Loki found himself wishing he’d gotten out of bed after all as Thor bolted up to hug him.  He groaned as those powerful arms were wrapped around him, nearly crushing him.  Then the groan turned into a whine of suffering - his skin was still new and tender.  Thor let go, looking at him worriedly.  “Sorry, brother.”

“I am not your brother,” Loki said sourly, gently rubbing his tingling flesh.

“As I said before - you will always be my brother.  My only worry is that I will not be yours.”

Loki frowned at him and changed the subject.  “So what happens now?  You allow me a moment’s reprieve, then continue beating me as you did before?”

“No.”

Now he was  _really_  confused.  “Then…what?”

“The nature of your punishment shall change.  I know that you are beginning to regret your actions…I fact, I never believed you to be fully committed to them in the first place.”  He sighed and cupped Loki’s face in one hand.  Loki tried to tell himself he hated the feel of it, but he knew it to be a lie.  “I  _do_  believe you were ready to come home when I first demanded it, but something stopped you.”

He was right.  Rage.  Fear.  Betrayal.  Pain.  A sadist’s treasure trove of emotions had prevented him from going home with Thor.  He wanted it, but at the same time, he knew he could not take it.  To do so would be to insult himself, and all that Odin had put him through.  At least Thor - dense, sentimental, and annoying as he was - had never intended to hurt him.  How could Odin possibly think his actions would not have negative consequences?  “Nothing is ever that simple, Thor,” Loki said stiffly, standing.  “You think you can stick me in the corner, tell me to think on what I have done, then bring me back so we can resume hunting and riding horses as we once did?  It is a fool’s wish.”

“It is  _my_  wish,” Thor said with firm decisiveness.  “And I will see it through.”

Loki grinned darkly.  “As you said, that is on me.”

Thor gave him a patient look.  “I suppose it is.”  He stood as well…and placed a gentle kiss on Loki’s lips.

The trickster sputtered in shock, reeling back until he tripped onto Thor’s desk.  They had kissed before, as an expression of familiarity, but for some reason, this kiss sent tingling fingers up his back.  “But either way, the physical portion of your punishment stops here.”

Loki peered at him for a moment before sliding off the desk with a wince.  Damn it all, everything was  _sore._   At least it didn’t cause him crippling agony, though.  “I will see myself back to my cell,” he said crossly.  “I assume I am still confined to it?”

“For now.”

“For now?” Loki questioned.

“As long as it still serves towards your punishment, at least.”

 

* * *

 

How quickly things could change.

Of course, Loki knew that Thor was right - his cruelty was born of madness, and the more Thor worked to right his wrongs, the more Loki wished to do the same.  But his emotions were in perpetual conflict with each other, and the newest addition to his mental stew of suffering wasn’t helping him any.

Damn it, why had Thor kissed him?  More than that, why did that kiss do what it did to him?

 _Lust.  The downfall of many good leaders, and yet I am no less a slave to it than they were,_  he thought to himself as he stitched a torn tapestry.  Thor’s latest brand of punishment, which essentially involved putting Loki through the same tasks as a servant, was not designed to cause him regret, as the beatings were.  This was meant to instill humility and appreciation in him.  It didn’t work, but the labor was simple enough, so he didn’t complain.  Certainly, it was better than leaning over a table and being beaten.   _How long have I desired him?_

He knew exactly how long, and frankly, he cared little for the answer.

He remembered realizing that Thor had found a mortal woman, a Midgardian trollop to fawn over, and the overwhelming flood of jealousy he had felt as a result.  He had threatened to kill her with his own two hands, and Thor’s rage at the idea had crushed him.  It had taken him all of a few minutes to realize his anger stemmed not only from his longing for equality, but also from a desire to be wanted by Thor.  Not just wanted, but  _craved._

The tapestry needle stuck into his finger, and he hissed in pain.  Pain had once brought him clarity, but now all it did was upset him.  Loki finished stitching the tapestry, then stuck the wounded finger in his mouth to stem the flow of blood.  He stood and made his way to Thor’s room.  He had finished his assigned duties, but it would look well if he asked for more.  Perhaps Thor would think he was improving…in whatever way he wanted him to improve, anyway.

Loki knocked thrice before entering.  “Thor?” he called softly as he entered the room.  Apparently, not loud enough, because Thor didn’t hear him well enough to stop his current actions.

He was splayed over his bed, legs parted, hand travelling his bare chest idly.  His pants were still on, but it was clear to Loki that they wouldn’t be for long if he let Thor continue.  The inseam was strained, and the reason for it was clear.  Thor’s fingers worked steadily over his collar bones, his middle…they dipped barely beneath his waistband as the god of thunder lay consumed in some fantasy Loki could put no name to, and a husky growl sounded deep in Thor’s chest.  Loki smirked and leaned against the wall, perching one hand on his hip.  Most of his pose was bluster - he needed to smother the lust that roiled in his chest at the sight of Thor so close to pleasuring himself.  “Shall I come back later?” Loki asked sweetly.

Thor growled and sat swiftly.  “It would serve us both well were you to  _knock_  next time, brother,” he said in a sour tone, shifting uncomfortably.

“I did.  And I called your name,” Loki said with a chuckle.  “Obviously, you were too busy to notice.”  He then saw the look on Thor’s face and frowned.  He was expecting a glare, but Thor was actually smiling a bit.  “What?”

“Your behavior.  It is much like your old self.”  Thor tugged the blanket up slightly.  “I am glad.”

Loki snarled.  “It means nothing.  I simply did not wish to waste a chance to embarrass you.”

Thor actually chuckled a bit.  “You never could, brother.”

Loki opened his mouth to protest the title, but he stopped.  Something came over him…a wave of determination, and suddenly, he was moving forward, towards Thor’s bed.  Some part of his mind, a more sensible one, was telling him to stop, to remove himself from his room and move back into the hall right away.  But the rest of him was urging him forward, down to kneel on Thor’s bed.

Thor’s brow knitted.  “Loki?  What are you doing?”

“I finished my duties,” he said simply.  “What else can I do in terms of my punishment?”

“ _Penance,_ ” Thor corrected.  “Your  _punishment_  is over.  And you may stop for the day.  Repairing such elaborate hangings should be focus enough for now.”  Never mind that Odin felt Loki had been given these tasks too early, and that the Jotuns had been cheated.  He had left Thor in charge, and was not about to recant such a privilege to his favored son, but Thor was well aware that Odin did not believe Loki’s upset to be genuine.

When Loki did not move, Thor frowned.  “Loki..?”

Loki dropped to all fours, wondering what the hell he was doing.  Anger roiled in his veins, anger at Thor, at the situation, at the fact that this slow process of his brother breaking him down and then piecing him back together was actually  _working._ He shook with a maelstrom of emotions, pulse fluttering rapidly in his throat.  How could he be so filled with hate, and yet so filled with desire?  Surely there was not enough room in him for both.

“Continue, Thor,” Loki said softly.

Thor’s eyes widened.  “ _What?_ ”

“If my penance is truly ended for the day, then I am free to pursue other desires.”  Loki ran a hand up Thor’s leg, and was both aroused and nervous when Thor did not push him away.  “I desire to see you finish.”

Thor’s eyes were wide.  “Loki…why?  From where does this come?”

“You truly are dense, aren’t you?” Loki asked, shaking his head.  “I have wanted your body since your exile.  I all but screamed it to you, and I barely even knew it  _myself_ at the time.”  He reached out with one hand, shockingly steady, and set it on Thor’s thigh, tauntingly close to his member.  “And with the next ninety-nine years of my life planned out in servitude, I have few joys left to pursue.  So you will grant me this one.”  His pranks would be punished - no one had to tell him this for him to know it.  Turning Sif’s jewelry to serpents, greasing the floors of the sparring halls…these relatively harmless joys would be denied him.

“Loki…”  Suddenly, Thor’s fingers were threaded through his hair.  Thor was rough when he pulled him up, but Loki certainly didn’t complain when their lips met.  Thor mouthed him brutishly, tangling their tongues and biting his lips until they were red and full.  Loki kissed back with a frenzy born of confusion.   _Thor_  wondered where  _his_ desire came from?  Loki would probably spend the rest of his punishment pondering where Thor’s lusts were born.  “…I will not pleasure myself if I can have  _you_.”

“Thor,” he gasped, pulling back.  That was a swift turning of tables, and Loki was not used to having the metaphoric rug pulled out from under him.  “When exactly did you..?”

“Do not flatter yourself,” Thor interrupted him.  “This is part of your punishment.  Anyone who suggests otherwise is a liar.”

Loki looked at him, horrified.  Thor wouldn’t.  Not when he could barely swim the chaotic seas of insanity that battered his mind daily.  He opened his mouth to protest…but the twinkle in Thor’s eye spoke volumes.  Of course he wouldn’t.  It was simply an excuse, playful banter.  But something in it stung Loki, and the trickster shook his head.

“No.  Not even in play, Thor.”  Loki moved up, until his chin rested on Thor’s chest.  “And not if you only do this to please me.  I do not wish anything of you if your actions are seated in a desire to coddle me.”  Or worse - pacify and reform him.

“Am I the kind of man who would take you simply to make you happy?”

Loki raised an eyebrow at that.  “For me?  Yes.”  Thor shrugged.  He pulled Loki up into another kiss, but it only lasted a few moments before Loki pulled back.  “No.  You are angry with me.  And you are  _not_  the kind of man who would make love to someone he is angry with.”

Thor frowned at Loki, obviously confused.  “Angry..?  You believe me angry, still?”  Thor pulled him closer, and Loki was suddenly very aware of the fact that Thor was still aroused from earlier.  “Loki, I spent my anger the day I protected you from the Jotuns.  I wish, as always, for you to see me as you did before.”

Loki peered at him for a moment before letting out a short chuckle.  “I am afraid that if we go through with this, Thor, I will  _never_  see you that way again.”  He kneaded his hands over Thor’s bare chest, tracing his lips with the tip of his tongue.  “I will see you _very_  differently.”

Thor smirked.  “That manner of thinking, I believe I can live with.”  He sat back and tilted his head slightly, the way an inquisitive dog would.  “We have established that I am not angry at you.  The question before we begin, Loki, is are you angry at me?”

Loki stopped and blinked.  Yes.  Yes, he was.  He was filled with shuddering fury at the fact that Thor had brought him back to Asgard.  The fact that he was allowed to punish him, the fact that his method of transforming Loki was actually proving successful in its own gradual way, the fact that Loki was torn daily between hatred and forgiveness…all of it enraged him to the point where he wished he had never been captured.  Of course, he would have wished that anyway, but Thor made it doubly so.

Why did he act so kindly towards Thor, then?  He asked the question to himself, and tried to answer it.  Perhaps to keep him off his guard.  Perhaps because that balance between hate and love tilted more towards love than he cared to admit.  Either way, for once, he didn’t lie to Thor.

“I am absolutely livid,” he said.

Thor blinked.  “…why?”

“More reasons than I care to count aloud.”  Loki shook his head.  “But we can get into that later.  You are squandering precious time, Thor.”  Maybe the god of thunder could remain aroused, but Loki’s patience for slow lovers was thin.  He did not feel like talking right now.  He felt like pleasuring Thor, and being pleasured in turn.  He wriggled against him, drawing a low noise from Thor.

“Why do you always seek to confuse me?” Thor demanded, sliding his hands beneath Loki’s tunic and peeling it away.

“Thor, lately I confuse  _myself._ ”  Loki hummed in shameless satisfaction as he allowed his body to be bared for Thor’s examination.  He twitched under those blue eyes, gasped lightly when Thor removed his trousers.  He returned the gesture, swallowing hard when Thor’s manhood came into view.

“Promise me you will let me know what is going on in that head of yours when we are done,” Thor said, licking his palm and wrapping the wetted hand around Loki’s erection.  Loki let out a small, high noise and looked at Thor with darkly amused green eyes.

“Never.”

And finally, Thor shut his mouth.  He moved his hand in a steady, slow pace, watching Loki’s face as each movement sparked greater levels of need.  The younger god snaked his own slender fingers around Thor, matching his rhythm and watching every move Thor made.  They rocked back and forth, their gasps growing in fervor as each of them grew harder in the other’s grasp…

…then, without warning, Loki pulled back.

“Loki..!” Thor gasped, looking bewildered.  He went to pull him back, but Loki batted him away irritably.

“Shut up.”  The trickster tossed his hair and placed a torturous, taunting kiss on Thor’s thigh, letting his cheek brush against the dampened head of Thor’s hardness.  He could feel the muscular body hitch as he licked the seam of Thor’s leg, panting hard against him because he knew what it would do to Thor.

“Loki,” Thor gasped, watching his mouth intently.  “What are you - “

Loki didn’t wait for him to finish.  He was sick of Thor questioning everything…though people who lived in ignorance often did, he supposed.  He took as much of Thor’s length into his mouth as he could, and Thor’s question immediately turned into a moan.  Loki quivered at the taste of him.  He had never done this before.  He had heard of it, though, and knew enough to be certain that it would feel good.  It was a lewd, unspeakable act…and as Thor bucked into his mouth, very nearly choking him, he relished every filthy moment of it.  He hollowed his cheeks, working his tongue over what he could fit in his mouth.

And, of course, he was subsequently enraged when Thor spent himself in the warm wetness he offered.

“Bastard!” he spat, wiping white away from his lips.  He knew he was being overly dramatic, that Thor had no intention of hurting him and he was using Thor’s natural desire against him.  But the look on Thor’s face was worth the somewhat reprehensible deceit.

“I…Loki, I meant no…I am sorry, I - !”

Loki smirked and draped himself over Thor, letting his own unattended arousal drag over the plane of Thor’s abdomen.  Thor groaned and reached down to touch Loki again.  The trickster immediately swatted his hand away.

“Don’t touch me, you lout.”  Loki’s expression smoldered with promises of things he had yet to do.  It didn’t take long for Thor’s softening member to respond to the worlds of pleasure those gray-green orbs whispered of.  “There are  _so_  many things you could be doing to me, and you waste your time with  _touching?_ ”

And after that, Thor didn’t speak, nor did he slow down.  Loki would never admit it aloud, but he became somewhat lost as Thor flipped him into his back and positioned himself to push in.  He was barely able to stop him in time to wet Thor’s fingers and guide him through the process of making sure he didn’t hurt him.

If Loki had still been allowed his magic, he could have easily slicked himself inside and made even an intrusion as large as Thor’s a simple task.  But stripped of his gifts as he was, he whimpered and squirmed in a manner completely alienated from his earlier confidence as he was slowly prepared.  Thor’s fingers were thick and calloused, but he craved their touch, and he moaned softly when they were pressed into him one by one.  He let out a choked cry as Thor’s fingers grazed the tender places within him, and when he could bear no more, he pushed the hand away and hooked his legs around Thor’s middle.  “ _In,_ ” he panted, and Thor obliged.

Loki winced and sank his teeth into Thor’s arm to stifle his moan.  They both fell to their sides, Thor moving roughly inside of Loki even before they had settled into the comfy confines of the blankets and furs around them.  The younger god swore by every higher power he knew as Thor’s body ground against him, building up friction within and without that sent his mind into a haze.  All he could think was how bestial, how  _wild_  their lovemaking was.  They rutted like animals in heat, Thor panting and pulling at Loki’s hair, Loki clawing into Thor’s shoulders and back until the flesh beneath him was red and sore.

Loki tore Thor’s orgasm from him with a loud growl and a well-timed squirm of his hips, and Thor’s entire body clenched as heat flooded through him.  Twice he had come, and he could see by the thinly veiled grin on his brother’s face that Loki had meant to embarrass him.

“Loki,” he panted, pulling out and leaning over him.  “You make me seem unskilled, and I do not care for it.”

“You’re speaking again,” Loki said, his grin faltering to a frown.  “I liked it better when - “

Thor grabbed his hips and pulled him closer roughly.  Loki let out a yelp as Thor’s breath ran hot over his thighs.  He couldn’t.  He wouldn’t.  Not the mighty Thor; he would never lower himself to take another man into his mouth.

Loki was both relieved and disappointed when he didn’t.  He settled to nipping the skin around Loki’s length instead, pushing three fingers back in and using his other hand to touch the places Loki most desired him to.  Having Thor inside him had been sheer carnal bliss, but this…this was attending to the tiny, sensitive places he couldn’t reach without care.  Loki’s senses were aflame, and as one of his brother’s hands milked his erection while the other pulsed in and out of his body, he became vaguely aware that he was panting, “ _Brother…ahh, brother..!_ ”  Again and again, with tears of ecstasy running down his face.  It didn’t take much for Loki to climax, but Thor kept going.  Loki was tortured again…this time with pleasure, and he clenched the sheets and those waves of golden hair until finally, his body proclaimed itself spent and he pressed his heel into the rise of one of Thor’s hips to kick him away.  “No more!” he panted.

Thor looked up, and even as tired as he was, Loki smirked to see his seed in that mop of blonde.  “You are satisfied?” he asked worriedly.

“Immensely,” Loki said with a nod.

They lay beside each other for a moment.  Thor stumbled up to grab a cloth and some water, which he used to clean them, but then he collapsed beside Loki again.  The silence was thick and wonderful, but Loki did not resent it when Thor spoke.

“You will tell me nothing, then?”  It was soft, not accusatory.

Loki looked over at him, somewhat dizzy.  “Still gnawing at that bone, are we?”

“I simply wish to understand you.  It is not a crime.”  Thor sighed and pulled him close.  “Come then.  Sleep.  Tomorrow will come sooner than either of us wish.”

Loki wanted to struggle away from the arms that held him close.  They had not  _made love,_ they had simply had sex; why did Thor insist on caressing him so?  He let a soft rumble run through his chest to let Thor know exactly what he thought of this…

…and then, though he didn’t know why, he opened his mouth and told Thor everything.

 

* * *

 

Mne smirked at the bloodied, nearly unrecognizable form below him.  “This has been a satisfying visit, Son of Laufey.  Do you not think so?”  He got little more than a whine in response.  “Oh, I know - I am selfish, taking time out of my negotiations to cause you such pain when I deny my people the same gift.  But there are certain advantages to being a king.  Perhaps the Son of Odin will detail them to you some day.”  With a laugh like broken glass, he walked from the room, leaving behind a shivering crimson body.

It took three minutes until Loki was sure he was gone, and then the doppelganger on the floor flickered out of existence.  A broad, wicked smile curved his features.  Foolish, overconfident Jotun.  Stupid, sentimental Thor.  It felt wonderful to have his gifts back, though it had taken Thor close to a year to convince Odin to allow them to him.

He could still hear the conversation in his head.

_“You will not receive my mercies a third time, Loki.”_

_“I understand, All-Father._ ”  It had sickened him, showing such respect to a man who had hurt him so deeply.  But he wanted his powers returned to him.  He could feel the flicker of them at his fingertips, barely held at bay now that he was so close to the man who denied him them.   _“I do not deserve them a third time.”_

 _“Do not presume to charm me as easily as you have Thor.  It would serve you to remember that I do not do this for you - I do this for him._ ”

Ah, he loved his son so much.  His sweet, golden child.  Loki had looked at Thor with genuine thanks, but his true motives curled behind his teeth like a venomous serpent.  _“It is a craft that is difficult to shed, All-Father.”_

_“Not if Thor puts the mask back on.  Never forget you are under his guardianship.”_

_“Of course not.”_

_“If he deems you dangerous, you will be returned to your cell.”_

_“Of course.”_

_“You are granted all but the ability to conceal yourself and move between worlds, then.”_ Never mind that with his magic granted him once more, he could conjure spells to replace the natural abilities.   _“Do not make me regret my decision, for if you do, you will certainly be made to regret yours._ ”

And that had been it.  It had been so simple.  So easy to work his way into Thor’s heart, to make him believe he was calmed and reformed.  Better than that, it had been unusually easy for Thor to convince Odin that Loki deserved his power back.  Thor had remained respectful every moment, bowing his head at his father’s anger, calmly explaining that if Loki was ever to be reformed, they would not want him back with withered gifts - they had been useful to the court in the past, after all.

Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.  Loki hadn’t planned it, not really…but once the opportunity had presented itself, he had leaped on it.  Two birds with one stone, really.  He had affirmed and consummated his desire for Thor,  _and_  broken his already-shaky defenses.  The rest of his plan was simple.  He would spend some time refining the edges of his art - magic was thoroughly unforgiving of mistakes - and then, once he had built his skills accordingly, he would jump to a world where he could plot in peace.  It would be ridiculously easy.

Or so he thought until Thor gave him the look that Loki had come to understand meant they would be naked in each other’s arms that night.  And then, suddenly, his hatred flared along with his desire, clouding his judgement, and he thought that perhaps…

…perhaps he could spend  _one_ more year in Asgard.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr here: http://talesfrommidgard.tumblr.com/post/24729633974/one-more-year-in-asgard


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